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- Died
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Gene Kelly
Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American actor, dancer, singer, filmmaker, and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style, his good looks, and the likable characters that he played on screen. He starred in, choreographed, or co-directed some of the most well-regarded musical films of the 1940s and 1950s, until they fell out of fashion in the late 1950s.
Kelly is best known today for his performances in films such as Cover Girl (1944), Anchors Aweigh (1945), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor, On the Town (1949), which was his directorial debut, An American in Paris (1951), Singin' in the Rain (1952), Brigadoon (1954), and It's Always Fair Weather (1955). Kelly made his film debut with Judy Garland in For Me and My Gal (1942), and followed by Du Barry Was a Lady (1943), Thousands Cheer (1943), The Pirate (1948), Summer Stock (1950), and Les Girls (1957) among others. After musicals he starred in two films outside the musical genre: Inherit the Wind (1960) and What a Way to Go! (1964). In 1967, he appeared in French director Jacques Demy's musical comedy The Young Girls of Rochefort opposite Catherine Deneuve. Kelly solo directed the comedy A Guide for the Married Man (1967) starring Walter Matthau, and later the extravagant musical Hello, Dolly! (1969) starring Barbra Streisand, recognized with an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. Kelly co-hosted and appeared in Ziegfeld Follies (1946), That's Entertainment! (1974), That's Entertainment, Part II (1976), That's Dancing! (1985), and That's Entertainment, Part III (1994).
His many innovations transformed the Hollywood musical, and he is credited with almost single-handedly making the ballet form commercially acceptable to film audiences. Kelly received an Academy Honorary Award in 1952 for his career achievements; the same year, An American in Paris won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture. He later received lifetime achievement awards in the Kennedy Center Honors (1982) and from the Screen Actors Guild and American Film Institute. In 1999, the American Film Institute also ranked him as the 15th greatest male screen legend of Classic Hollywood Cinema.
As director
That's Entertainment, Part II
The Cheyenne Social Club
Hello, Dolly!
A Guide for the Married Man
Jack and the Beanstalk
American in Paris
Gigot
The Tunnel of Love
Dancing, a Man's Game - Gene Kelly
The Happy Road
Invitation to the Dance
It's Always Fair Weather
Singin' in the Rain
On the Town
Combat Fatigue Irritability
As actor
Michael
True Blue
Gene Kelly - An American in Hollywood
Sid & Judy
La La La
JFK: The Lost Inaugural Gala
Directing Dolly: Gene Kelly Remembered
Frank Sinatra: Around the World
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1940s: Stars, Stripes and Singing
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1950s: The Golden Era of the Musical
Happy Again
Summer Stock: Get Happy!
Easter Parade: On the Avenue
Get Aboard! 'The Band Wagon'
Reunited at MGM: Astaire and Rogers Together Again
Judy Garland: By Myself
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs: America's Greatest Music in the Movies
Cole Porter in Hollywood: Ça c'est l'amour
Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer
Hollywood Musicals of the 40's
A Bing Crosby Christmas
The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies
That's Entertainment! III
The Young Girls Turn 25
You're the Top: The Cole Porter Story
Tom & Jerry's 50th Birthday Bash
Michael Jackson: The Legend Continues
Roger Rabbit and the Secrets of Toon Town
The Movie Palaces
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life